Company Official becomes Nawabs


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Company Official becomes Nawabs

Company Officials become “nabobs”: After the battle of Plassey the actual nawabs of Bengal were forced to give land and vast sums of money as personal gifts to Company officials. Robert Clive himself amassed a fortune in India. He had come to Madras (now Chennai) from England in1743 at the age of 18. When in 1767 he left India his Indian fortune was worth £401. Interestingly, when he was asked to remove corruption in Company administration but he was himself cross-examined in 1772 by the British Parliament which was suspicious of his vast wealth. Although he was acquitted, he committed suicide in 1774.

All company officials succeeded in making money like Clive.Many died an early death in India due to disease and war and it would not be right to regard all of them as corrupt and dishonest. Many of them came from humble backgrounds and their uppermost desire was to earn enough in India ,return to Britain and lead a comfortable life. those who managed to return with wealth led flashy lives and flaunted their riches . They were called "nabobs" an anglicised version of the Indian word nawab. They were often seen as upstarts and social climbers in British society and were ridiculed or made fun of in plays and cartoons.

 
 


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